WASHI – Japanese Paper Art

Washi is Japanese handmade paper, steeped in tradition that dates back more than a thousand years and the foundation for a myriad of Japanese cultural arts. In artwork, washi traditionally is used in the making of mokuhanga or woodblock prints where there is an integral relationship between the paper and the artist’s expression. 

Taking washi and mokuhanga as a starting point, this exhibit showcases the work of Canadian artists Naoko Matsubara and Alexa Hatanaka. Although from different generations, the trajectories of both artists include being of Japanese ancestry, working with the Inuit artist community in the North, and exploring the merging of cross-cultural techniques of Western and Eastern influences in their artmaking. Driven by curiosity, spontaneity, and supportive relations that mold their creative journey, the diversity of each artist’s oeuvre is fascinating to explore. 

This exhibit includes a heritage corner drawn from Nikkei National Museum’s archives.

 We are grateful to launch this exhibit in cooperation with the Canadian Society for Asian Arts and with the support of the BC Arts Council and the Deux Mille Foundation.

CSAA Program Information 2021 – 2022

Exhibition Series:
“Speed and Splendour: by Sea to Asia” an exhibit of graphic depiction of transpacific travel to Asia in the early years of the 20th C, on view November 23, 2021 – February 27, 2022, is presented in cooperation with the Vancouver Maritime Museum. An accompanying video highlighting the story of tourist travel to Asia is available on the website.

“WASHI (Japanese Paper Art) connecting cultures, countries and generations” featuring the work of Canadian artists Naoko Matsubara and Alexa Hatanaka explores washi and woodblock printing. The exhibit is now open at the Nikkei National Museum and Cultural Centre.

“Ink Dance: 50 Years of Calligraphy by Yim Tse” presented in cooperation with The Asian Library at the University of British Columbia, is now scheduled at the Asian Centre in the spring of 2023. A video on Ink Dance and the major themes in Yim Tse’s calligraphy is in production and will be available online in 2022.

Asian Illuminations Series:
Virtual programs in spring 2021 included: Ink Dance – a talk and video demonstration of Chinese calligraphy; Scott Williams on the west coast Manila Galleon shipwrecks; and Bird Tracks in the Air, a book launch of Chinese poetry. The events were held in cooperation with the Asian Library, University of British Columbia, Vancouver Maritime Museum and Vancouver Asian Heritage Month Society, respectively. Recordings of the events will be available on the CSAA website.

Several talks and demonstrations are also under development, including events on Japanese Kodo or Incense Ceremonies, Japanese Noh Mask Carving, the Art of the Tokonoma, the Cham Culture of Vietnam, Asia Pacific Folk Masks and Design in the Nitobe Garden. Programs offer rare opportunities to experience these art forms with Asian art and culture specialists.

Check the website for updates, to become a member, donate or sign up for event notices. All programs follow BC Health guidelines. CSAA continues to increase program accessibility by offering more virtual online displays, videos and events while maintaining in-person exhibits and programs.

CSAA acknowledges the challenges posed by Covid-19 and remains committed to presenting Asian art and culture programs now and in the future. We look forward to seeing you soon, in person or virtually!

— The CSAA Board

YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED

TO ATTEND THE VIRTUAL CSAA

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Sunday, March 20th, 2022, 11-12:00pm

Following the Meeting at 1:00pm, an illustrated Lecture on the
Art of the Tokonoma will be presented by Maiko Behr, Director, SaBi Tea Arts
“Origins of the Tokonoma: Architecture, Form and Function of the Tea Room Alcove”
Two invitation links to both the AGM and Lecture 
will be sent two days before the event.

Members and Non-Members are welcome to attend the AGM
and the Art of the Tokonoma Lecture
+++++++++++++++++++  
Note:  Membership is required in order to vote at the AGM
To join or renew, please forward a cheque to the
Canadian Society for Asian Arts
#260 – 5655 Cambie St.
Vancouver, BC  V5Z 3A4
Adult $30.  Family $40.  Senior/Student $25.
++++++++++++++++++++
We look forward to connecting with you virtually at
11am for the AGM, and at
1pm for the Art of the Tokonoma Lecture!

Speed and Splendour: By Sea to Asia

CSAA is pleased to announce the opening of a new exhibit,
co-presented with the Vancouver Maritime Museum

Visitors over the age of 12 must provide proof of vaccination.
Masks are mandatory.

Speed and Splendour explores how travel posters in the early 20th century affected western perceptions of Asia.
 
Steamship travel from Vancouver to major ports in Asia increased in the early 20th century. This coincided with changes in ship design and propulsion technology. Ships like the Empress liners of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) became grander. They also offered more onboard amenities than vessels of the late 19th century.
 
As ships became more luxurious, the marketing of voyages and destinations changed. Posters promoting travel to Asia became common after WWI and the depression years. 
 
Speed and Splendour features posters and ephemera from CPR steamships and from Japanese steamship company Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK). The posters show how each company presented Asian destinations and culture to western audiences.
 
The CPR materials use dramatic painted scenes. They often present grand steamships alongside imagined scenes of Asian people or ports. Stereotypes of Asian culture and dress are rendered in impressionistic techniques. These images create a sense of “exotic otherness.”
 
The materials created by NYK present more authentic depictions of artwork and culture. They include details like Japanese characters on English menus.
 
Speed and Splendour is curated in collaboration with the Canadian Society for Asian Art (CSAA). The exhibition features posters from the VMM collection, the UBC Chung collection and the CSAA collection.

Bird Tracks in the Air

The Manila Galleon Wrecks of North America

A virtual talk presented by the Canadian Society for Asian Arts and the Vancouver Maritime Museum

Get ready to travel back in time and discover the Manila Galleon Wrecks of North America. Your guide at this virtual event on March 27, 2021 at 2:00 p.m. will be archaeologist Scott Williams.  

Large galleons built in the Spanish colony of Manila travelled between Spain and Acapulco, Mexico for 250 years from 1565 to 1815. The galleons were the largest ships of their time and carried luxury goods such as silk, Chinese porcelain and spices from Asia to Spanish colonists in the New World.

Three of those galleons were wrecked in North America:

• the Santo Cristo de Burgos—wrecked on the north Oregon coast in 1693
• the San Agustin—wrecked in central California in 1595
• the third galleon, yet to be definitively identified, lies in Baja California—wrecked in either 1578 or 1586

These wrecks have been studied by archaeologists over the past two decades and Scott Williams will share the results of those investigations. Each of these wrecks is the oldest shipwrecks in its area, and the wreck in California is the oldest shipwreck on the west coast.

Scott Williams is a professional archaeologist with over thirty-five years of experience conducting archaeological research throughout the Pacific Northwest, the islands of the Pacific and Australia. Williams is currently the cultural resources program manager for the Washington State Department of Transportation, where he oversees the agency’s archaeology and history program. He is also on the board of the Maritime Archaeological Society and serves as the principal Investigator for the Beeswax Wreck Project, a non-profit project investigating the Manila galleon Santo Cristo de Burgos which was wrecked on the north Oregon coast in 1693. He has just completed an edited volume on the three galleon wrecks in North America.

Registration for this presentation is free for Canadian Society of Asian Arts participants.

Ink Dance